UP Opposition walks out of Vidhan Sabha

Amid the din over the rape of Muslim girls of a madrassa in Allahabad, the Opposition members led by teachers' group staged a walkout in the Vidhan Parishad on Thursday.

The members accusing the Mulayam Singh Yadav government of being insensitive to the issue, said the police had been protecting the rape accused.

However, the leader of the House and Family Welfare Minister Ahmad Hasan strongly rebutted the charge.

Raising the issue through an adjournment motion in the House the entire opposition assailed the government of the heinous crime in madrassa. The teachers' group, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Congress and BSP later boycotted the House. Pressing for the acceptance of the motion leader of teachers' group Om Prakash Sharma said a ruling party land Mafiosi of Allahabad was responsible for the rape of the girls. Sharma announced to support a statewide call for "madrassa bandh" on January 31. Sharma said resentment was brewing in the Muslim community over the incident. He said the police was in league with the criminals.

Sharma said the incident had exposed the fast deteriorating law and order situation in the state. Sharma said the rape was committed to terrorise the Muslim community so that madrassa land could be vacated for Mafiosi.
The leader of the Opposition Dr Nepal Singh said "the government is being controlled by land Mafiosi and the Allahabad incident was the result of criminals-police nexus".

He said the police registered an FIR for rape only under pressure. The BSP leader Kamla Kant Gautam flaying the government for rising crimes, demanded CBI probe into the rape case. Munna Singh Chauhan (RLD) and Nasib Pathan (Congress) also blamed the government for the incident.

However, refuting the charges Ahmad Hasan said the police had acted swiftly and the accused had been arrested. He said the BSP Chief Mayawati had been trying to politicise the issue. He also accused the BSP of being "enemy of madrassa" as the Mayawati government had sought a certificate from all madrassas that that they were not involved in terrorists activities. Intervening in the debate Sharma accused the government of sidetracking the main issue and staged a walkout. It was for the first time that the teachers' group boycotted along with the BSP. The chairman Chaudhury Sukhram Singh Yadav, while rejecting the motion directed the government to probe into the case.